This fiscal year's advanced first-aid training for Palaceside Building tenants and others was held on the 19th in Mainichi Hall on the first basement. Held every year toward the goal of "at least one advanced-course graduate per workplace" so we can respond at once if someone falls ill or is injured, the day drew office and shop staff, members of contractors who handle building security, and people from Mainichi Nihonbashi Building (Chuo-ku), a "sister building" also managed by Mainichi Building Co. — 46 people from 18 companies in all.
Instructors were sent by the Tokyo Disaster Prevention and Emergency Medical Association. We started at 9 a.m. and worked solidly for eight hours until 5 p.m., with a lunch break.
The course is not the usual lecture but centered on practice. We went straight to CPR on an upper-body manikin. Thirty chest compressions =photo above, then two rescue breaths with a mouthpiece =photo below= , five sets. Quite a physical contest. Even in an air-conditioned hall, everyone worked soaked in sweat.
First-aid courses are one of the official
credentials taught and certified by municipal fire bureaus and headquarters such as Tokyo Fire Department. There is a half-day "ordinary" course and a full-day "advanced" course; we run the advanced one. A major feature is learning resuscitation not only for adults but for children, infants and newborns. Adult revival of a stopped heart is chest compression: heel of the hand at mid-chest, both hands stacked, body weight so the ribs sink 5 cm. That would crush a small child, so for children under 16 you press the lower half of the sternum with one palm, and for infants under one year slightly below mid-chest with two fingers — a distinction you must use.
We also learned AED operation and first aid (burns, fracture fixation, triangular-bandage methods).
After completing the full curriculum, Fire Department–certified advanced first-aid skills certificates were issued.
Palaceside Building participants were from the following companies. Thank you for your hard work. (A–I order)
E&E, Shunsai Shubo En, Daiwa Real Estate Appraisal, Nikken Sekkei, Maiei, Mynavi, The Mainichi Newspapers, Marutake, Media Do, Lacras, Wao, partner company (Globeship)